NL East Notes: Chipper, Werth, Rollins
The Mets made a minor trade and the Marlins are finalizing their roster. Here's the latest from the other NL East teams…
- The Braves are looking to upgrade their bench with another right-handed bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The Braves have been on the lookout for such a player throughout the month of March.
- In a wide-ranging Q&A with David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says the hardest part of getting older is that something hurts every day. But fret not, Braves fans – Chipper's knee has been pain-free for three weeks.
- As Tyler Kepner of the New York Times explains, a visit with a wrist surgeon changed the course of Jayson Werth's career a little more than four years ago. The Nationals lured Werth to Washington this offseason, signing him to a $126MM deal.
- Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins tells Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has six or seven more years of baseball left. The 32-year-old hits free agency after the season.
Today’s Outrights: Marquez, Mather, Rizzotti, Misch
Several players cleared waivers and were removed from the 40-man roster today by way of an outright assignment. The latest:
- Jeff Marquez of the White Sox cleared waivers and is headed for Triple-A, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Braves utility player Joe Mather cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Phillies removed Matt Rizzotti from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to the minor leagues, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter).
- Mets lefty Pat Misch was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger. He's expected to accept the assignment. Misch, 29, posted a 3.82 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 1.0 BB/9, 1.0 HR/9, and 52.0% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings for the Mets last year, tossing another 150 2/3 innings across 23 starts in Triple-A.
- Brewers outfielder Brandon Boggs was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Boggs, 28, hit .290/.406/.470 in 439 Triple-A plate appearances last year while playing all three outfield positions. He has until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the assignment or elect free agency, tweets Haudricourt.
- The Mariners outrighted southpaw Cesar Jimenez, tweets ESPN's Shannon Drayer. Jimenez, 26, missed most of the 2010 season recovering from labrum surgery.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Marlins, Isringhausen
It has been a busy day in the NL East as the Phillies completed a signing, the Braves made a trade and the Mets placed three players on waivers. Here's the rest of what you need to know about the division…
- Alden Gonzalez previews the NL East for MLB.com and, with some help, predicts the Phillies will win the division, followed by the Braves, Marlins, Nationals and Mets.
- MLB.com's Mark Bauman argues that the margin for error has shrunk for the Phillies' highly-regarded rotation, because Brad Lidge and Chase Utley have been sidelined with injuries.
- Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that he isn't actively looking to make any deals between now and Opening Day, though he'll watch out for possible bargains. "You always look to see if there is an upgrade or a different fit for your club," Beinfest said. "We're not going to do something [just] to do something. It's going to have to be an upgrade over what we think we have here."
- If the Marlins acquire a third baseman, it would essentially be a "place-keeper" for prospect Matt Dominguez, Beinfest said.
- Like Bartolo Colon of the Yankees, Jason Isringhausen of the Mets surprised people this spring and pitched well enough to earn a roster spot despite a history of injuries. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains the parallels between the two pitchers and the uncertainty surrounding them.
Phillies To Sign Kevin Frandsen
The Phillies have agreed to sign Kevin Frandsen to a minor league contract, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). The infielder will head to Triple-A for now.
Frandsen nearly signed with Arizona after the Padres released him, but the deal with the D'Backs fell through. He'll provide the Phillies with depth behind Wilson Valdez, the newly-acquired Luis Castillo and the injured Chase Utley. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported earlier today that Castillo appears likely to start the season at second while Utley recovers (Twitter link).
Frandsen, 28, has big league experience at third, short, first and both corner outfield positions, but he has played more games at second than at any other position. He hit .250/.294/.319 in 173 plate appearances for the Angels last year.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Astros, Reyes, Burrell, Belt
Links for Saturday, after the Yankees announced that Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will be their fourth and fifth starters while Bartolo Colon serves as the long reliever…
- The Rangers aren't looking for a centerfielder as they believe that Julio Borbon will be okay after suffering an elbow injury, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It's not realistic to expect the club to land a starting pitcher either as there isn't much out there.
- Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. denied a report saying that he's close to selling the team, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.
- Left-hander Dennys Reyes told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he is healthy after dealing with a forearm strain at the end of last year. Earlier today the Red Sox purchased the veteran's big league contract.
- More teams are structuring deals to guard against major injuries to their star players, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reminds us, chances are that back-of-the-rotation won't be the one the Yankees finish the season with.
- Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the team's bullpen isn't finalized (Twitter links). "We've still got a few things in the works," said Dubee, which Zolecki says could mean a trade, waiver claim, or an internal option.
- Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bruce Bochy confirmed that Pat Burrell will be the Giants' Opening Day left fielder, meaning Brandon Belt is likely headed back to the minors. Check out Tim Dierkes' recent look at Belt's service time situation.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reminds us that 40-man roster space (or the lack thereof) can often serve as the tie-breaker when teams make roster decisions with non-roster invitees near the end of Spring Training (Twitter link).
Quick Hits: Sabathia, Lopez, Castillo, Rangers
Links for Friday night, as Brandon Beachy continues to impress….
- Speaking to Jack Curry of the YES Network, Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia stuck to his vow to avoid commenting on his opt-out clause until after the season. However, he added "I'm a Yankee" and said he can't see himself "playing anywhere else" (Twitter link).
- Rodrigo Lopez says he has no regrets about signing with the Braves, despite not earning a spot in the rotation, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman and Alden Gonzalez.
- We heard earlier in the week that the Braves were looking to deal Lopez, with MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith running through some potential suitors. Although Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Braves are more likely to trade Lopez than Kenshin Kawakami before Opening Day, he cautions that there's no rush for Atlanta – Lopez has an out in his contract, but not until June.
- Within Rosenthal's piece, a scout expresses doubt about Luis Castillo's chances of making the Phillies. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says time is running out on Castillo's spring audition.
- Endy Chavez and Esteban German are among the players the Rangers sent to the minors today, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Meanwhile, with Tommy Hunter likely sidelined until May, Alexi Ogando could re-enter the Rangers' rotation mix, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
Red Sox Seek Rotation Depth
The Red Sox have five proven starters and a handful of viable alternatives, but that’s not stopping GM Theo Epstein from looking for more possibilities for the rotation, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox are looking for starting pitching depth and would love to add a veteran who’s open to pitching at Triple-A until he’s needed.
“We’ve learned that we can never have enough starting pitching, but we like the depth provided by [Tim] Wakefield, [Alfredo] Aceves, and [Felix] Doubront," Epstein said.
Wakefield, Aceves and Doubront are the team’s primary alternatives to the starting five of Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. It also appears that the Red Sox will start Andrew Miller at Triple-A and stretch him out as a starter in the minors.
Though some starting pitching is available, none of it appears to be a logical fit for the Red Sox. The $16MM remaining on Joe Blanton’s contract makes him an unattractive option; it seems doubtful that the Red Sox would meet the Twins' asking price for Kevin Slowey only to stash him in the minors and the Red Sox don’t appear to have much interest in Jeremy Bonderman.
I listed a number of potentially available starters earlier in the week.
Stark On Phillies, Marlins, Young, Morgan, Astros
As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark points out, the Phillies’ decision to sign Luis Castillo suggests they aren’t overly optimistic about the timetable for Chase Utley’s return. According to Stark, the Phillies heard that there is no guarantee that surgery would make Utley healthy again, so they’re hoping rehab works. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors…
- The Marlins have decided that Matt Dominguez isn’t ready for the majors, so they’re “actively exploring” outside options. Earlier tonight, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports heard that the Marlins were “unlikely” to look outside of the organization for help at the hot corner.
- Though the Pirates are still shopping Ryan Doumit, teams that have spoken to Pittsburgh say the catcher/outfielder is not drawing much interest.
- Multiple teams, including the Phillies, Marlins and Cubs, appear to be eyeing Michael Young. None of those clubs can afford Young’s annual salary of $16MM and the Rangers expect a “massive” return if they’re going to eat a significant amount of Young’s salary.
- Scouts covering the Nationals say Nyjer Morgan is very much available. “They're trying to give him away," one scout said, before suggesting that the Nationals could release him.
- Scouts watching the Yankees expect the team to add a veteran catcher in the next week.
- The Phillies are looking for a veteran outfielder who’s capable of playing center field.
- Teams that have spoken with the Astros say they’d like to add a veteran catcher, but have very little money to spend.
NL East Notes: Castillo, DePodesta, Braves
Links from the NL East, as the Marlins declare that Josh Johnson is ready for the season…
- After some confusion, Luis Castillo arrived in Phillies camp, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post de-bunks the notion that the Mets could have built up trade value for Castillo instead of releasing him.
- Mets exec Paul DePodesta said in a chat at Baseball Prospectus that he likes to be aggressive in the draft and take occasional "shots where it's appropriate." However, DePodesta cautioned that it's possible to overspend on amateurs, since there is a finite number of future big leaguers out there (hat tip MetsBlog).
- Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs predicts that the Braves will get something in exchange for Kenshin Kawakami, even if they have to eat some of his $6.67MM salary.
- For the latest on the Nationals, click here.
Jimmy Rollins Talks Free Agency
Jimmy Rollins chatted recently with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about his impending free agency. The 32-year-old shortstop seems at ease entering the first contract year of his career:
"If I do what I’m supposed to do and I’m healthy, I’ll get signed somewhere, if not here. I’m not worried about that part. Just having a healthy season and feeling good, that’s the only thing I’m concerned with."
The Phillies are the only team Rollins has ever known, but it's too early to determine the extent of the gap between his asking price and the commitment the Phillies are willing and able to make. As Rosenthal points out, the Phillies don't have a replacement ready at the top levels of the minors.
Despite Rollins' slipping on-base percentage, his 10.2% walk rate last year was a career-best. He still has good pop for a shortstop, and his defense remains well-regarded. If Rollins stays healthy and his batting average bounces back, he could be in line for a four or five-year deal worth upwards of $15MM a year. The 2012 free agent market potentially features at least four other starting shortstops: Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Alex Gonzalez, and J.J. Hardy. That crop is better than usual, but it's still very difficult to find a quality shortstop.